


The Fool Who Met Death

by Thimblerig



Series: The Tenner [6]
Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, Original Work
Genre: Contest of Wits, Fic and Podfic, Gen, Minor Sound Effects, Myths & Fairy Tales, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23425645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thimblerig/pseuds/Thimblerig
Summary: Day 3 - The Long Way
Relationships: The Fool (OC) & Death (Death)
Series: The Tenner [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680610
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5
Collections: The Tenner





	1. Chapter 1

__

_Lady Yekaterina sits down on the low stone wall that rims the reflecting pool, her long velvet skirts spread around her in flaunting unconcern that anything in her domain might dare to muss her. Her long white fingers toy with a dainty yellow leaf, fallen with the coming autumn._

* * *

**The Fool Who Met Death**

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a Fool who walked the earth. He had hairy breeks on his lower parts, and a green velvet doublet on top, and for a hat he wore a silver-pewter jelly-mold, all fluted around its sides.

And one night as he was walking on the moors, in a howling storm, with his silver jelly-mold jammed tight over his ears to protect him from the flashing lightning, he came upon a figure of darkness, swathed in dark cloth, with a dark bag clutched in their bony hand.

“Hello!” quoth he, for he was too foolish to recognise a power and a mystery, and walked straight up to the being (who was Death). “Might you perchance have a drink about you, sir or ma’am?”

Death looked at him oddly, for few but the old were minded to talk with them for long. “It’s raining,” they said, in a voice like the whisper of the night.

“And do I have a cup to catch the rain? I do not,” said the Fool.

Death allowed that cups were agreeable, and from the depths of their robe produced a silver goblet. It had poisoned a king, and a queen, and a pretender to the throne before it was discarded, and into it was poured wine of belladonna and opium and siren’s tears. (But when you drink with Death, it does not end until Death is ready, so _that’s_ alright.)

Halfway through his drink, the Fool realised that Death was still looking at him oddly - their eyes flicking up to the crown of his head, chiming gently with the falling raindrops on the silver, then back to his face. “Aha!” he declared, “you have noticed the beauty of my bonnet. For is there anything so delicate, so sumptuous, so lusciously trembling as a new-made jelly on its platter, waiting for the spoon? And does not the jelly-mold give it its shape? Therefore, by wearing one myself, I become delicate, and sumptuous, and lusciously trembling… and _beautiful…"_

Death laughed. But then they told the Fool he must savour his drink. “For,” they said, in their voice of whispers in the night, “when it is done, then I must _pop_ you in my bag and carry you right off. Sorry I am, for you amuse me. But there it is.”

The Fool sipped his drink, and then asked Death if seasoned wood was better than a green branch. And Death allowed that oak and cedar, long dried and dense and tough, made for more elegant coffins than boxes woven from willow branches. Then the Fool asked death what was better eating, a fat hare or a scrawny leveret. Upon which Death had opinions for, while the one is very crunchable, there’s so much juice in the other.

The drink was nearly gone, though the rain fell in constantly and diluted it somewhat. His eyes innocent and guileless, the Fool asked which weighed more, a foolish man or one who was wise. “For,” said he, “I could jump in your bag right now, but I’m right foolish - head full of air, me.” He took another sip. “Or, _oooooooor_ I could take the long way around, Death, my friend, I could learn such things and see such sights, I would tell you stories all the night through from inside your bag.”

And Death thought about it, and agreed that a wise head weighed more than a foolish one, or at least, it rested heavier on the pillow. So they agreed to part ways and find each other again.

How easy it is, for a Fool to meet Death.

* * *

_Lady Yekaterina lets the yellow leaf fall with a laugh. “And as to their last meeting, I shall speak of it when it happens!”_

_The leaf drifts on, silent on the still water._


	2. The Podfic

* * *

Click [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SKcDiXfRRHqM2arhaUCi8nE8DMwrAfzV/view?usp=drivesdk) to stream or download :-) 

* * *

Format: MP3  
Length: 5:59  
Size: 10.36 MB

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Programs Used: Audio Evolution (Mobile); Logopit Plus; Music Editor
> 
> Cover image: https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Vector-graphics-of-swirling-petals-floral-design/34665.html 
> 
> Music/FX:
> 
> “Simple piano improvisation” by ValentinSosnitskiy - https://freesound.org/people/ValentinSosnitskiy/sounds/431520/ (CC BY 3.0)  
> “Thunder 01” by YevgVerh https://freesound.org/people/YevgVerh/sounds/150181/ - (CC BY 3.0)  
> “Rain and thunder short” by quetzalcontla https://freesound.org/people/quetzalcontla/sounds/338782/ - (CC BY 3.0)  
> "1233_dripping_water_1" by reinsamba - https://freesound.org/people/reinsamba/sounds/64962/ (CC BY 3.0)


End file.
